Premier Campbell assembles task force to review sled dog deaths

Kim Pemberton, Vancouver Sun02.03.2011

The SPCA says it would have acted had it known 100 sled dogs were going to be slaughtered.Claudia Kwan
/ Special to the Vancouver Sun

A sled dog from Outdoor Adventures Whistler, the tour company in Whistler, B.C. that ordered the killing of 100 dogs when bookings slumped after the Olympic Games in Vancouver.Claudia Kwan
/ Special to the Vancouver Sun

A sled dog from Outdoor Adventures Whistler, the tour company in Whistler, B.C. that ordered the killing of 100 dogs when bookings slumped after the Olympic Games in Vancouver.Claudia Kwan
/ Special to the Vancouver Sun

A sled dog from Outdoor Adventures Whistler, the tour company in Whistler, B.C. that ordered the killing of 100 dogs when bookings slumped after the Olympic Games in Vancouver.Claudia Kwan
/ Special to the Vancouver Sun

A sled dog from Outdoor Adventures Whistler, the tour company in Whistler, B.C. that ordered the killing of 100 dogs when bookings slumped after the Olympic Games in Vancouver.Claudia Kwan
/ Special to the Vancouver Sun

A sled dog from Outdoor Adventures Whistler, the tour company in Whistler, B.C. that ordered the killing of 100 dogs when bookings slumped after the Olympic Games in Vancouver.Claudia Kwan
/ Special to the Vancouver Sun

Sled dogs from Outdoor Adventures Whistler, the tour company in Whistler, B.C. that ordered the killing of 100 dogs when bookings slumped after the Olympic Games in Vancouver.Claudia Kwan
/ Special to the Vancouver Sun

A sled dog from Outdoor Adventures Whistler, the tour company in Whistler, B.C. that ordered the killing of 100 dogs when bookings slumped after the Olympic Games in Vancouver.Claudia Kwan
/ Special to the Vancouver Sun

Sled dogs from Outdoor Adventures Whistler, the tour company in Whistler, B.C. that ordered the killing of 100 dogs when bookings slumped after the Olympic Games in Vancouver.Claudia Kwan
/ Special to the Vancouver Sun

A sled dog from Outdoor Adventures Whistler, the tour company in Whistler, B.C. that ordered the killing of 100 dogs when bookings slumped after the Olympic Games in Vancouver.Claudia Kwan
/ Special to the Vancouver Sun

Sled dogs from Outdoor Adventures Whistler, the tour company in Whistler, B.C. that ordered the killing of 100 dogs when bookings slumped after the Olympic Games in Vancouver.Claudia Kwan
/ Special to the Vancouver Sun

A sled dog from Outdoor Adventures Whistler, the tour company in Whistler, B.C. that ordered the killing of 100 dogs when bookings slumped after the Olympic Games in Vancouver.Claudia Kwan
/ Special to the Vancouver Sun

Sled dogs from Outdoor Adventures Whistler, the tour company in Whistler, B.C. that ordered the killing of 100 dogs when bookings slumped after the Olympic Games in Vancouver.Claudia Kwan
/ Special to the Vancouver Sun

Sled dogs from Outdoor Adventures Whistler, the tour company in Whistler, B.C. that ordered the killing of 100 dogs when bookings slumped after the Olympic Games in Vancouver.Claudia Kwan
/ Special to the Vancouver Sun

A sled dog from Outdoor Adventures Whistler, the tour company in Whistler, B.C. that ordered the killing of 100 dogs when bookings slumped after the Olympic Games in Vancouver.Claudia Kwan
/ Special to the Vancouver Sun

Sled dogs from Outdoor Adventures Whistler, the tour company in Whistler, B.C. that ordered the killing of 100 dogs when bookings slumped after the Olympic Games in Vancouver.Claudia Kwan
/ Special to the Vancouver Sun

Sled dogs from Outdoor Adventures Whistler, the tour company in Whistler, B.C. that ordered the killing of 100 dogs when bookings slumped after the Olympic Games in Vancouver.Claudia Kwan
/ Special to the Vancouver Sun

A sled dog from Outdoor Adventures Whistler, the tour company in Whistler, B.C. that ordered the killing of 100 dogs when bookings slumped after the Olympic Games in Vancouver.Claudia Kwan
/ Special to the Vancouver Sun

Sled dogs from Outdoor Adventures Whistler, the tour company in Whistler, B.C. that ordered the killing of 100 dogs when bookings slumped after the Olympic Games in Vancouver.Claudia Kwan
/ Special to the Vancouver Sun

Sled dogs from Outdoor Adventures Whistler, the tour company in Whistler, B.C. that ordered the killing of 100 dogs when bookings slumped after the Olympic Games in Vancouver.Claudia Kwan
/ Special to the Vancouver Sun

A sled dog from Outdoor Adventures Whistler, the tour company in Whistler, B.C. that ordered the killing of 100 dogs when bookings slumped after the Olympic Games in Vancouver.Claudia Kwan
/ Special to the Vancouver Sun

Sled dogs from Outdoor Adventures Whistler, the tour company in Whistler, B.C. that ordered the killing of 100 dogs when bookings slumped after the Olympic Games in Vancouver.Claudia Kwan
/ Special to the Vancouver Sun

Sled dogs from Outdoor Adventures Whistler, the tour company in Whistler, B.C. that ordered the killing of 100 dogs when bookings slumped after the Olympic Games in Vancouver.Claudia Kwan
/ Special to the Vancouver Sun

Sled dogs from Outdoor Adventures Whistler, the tour company in Whistler, B.C. that ordered the killing of 100 dogs when bookings slumped after the Olympic Games in Vancouver.Claudia Kwan
/ Special to the Vancouver Sun

Sled dogs from Outdoor Adventures Whistler, the tour company in Whistler, B.C. that ordered the killing of 100 dogs when bookings slumped after the Olympic Games in Vancouver.Claudia Kwan
/ Special to the Vancouver Sun

Sled dogs from Outdoor Adventures Whistler, the tour company in Whistler, B.C. that ordered the killing of 100 dogs when bookings slumped after the Olympic Games in Vancouver.Claudia Kwan
/ Special to the Vancouver Sun

Sled dogs from Outdoor Adventures Whistler, the tour company in Whistler, B.C. that ordered the killing of 100 dogs when bookings slumped after the Olympic Games in Vancouver.Claudia Kwan
/ Special to the Vancouver Sun

VANCOUVER — Premier Gordon Campbell says he hopes a task force he appointed Wednesday will provide answers about why 100 sled dogs were killed in Whistler last spring.

“Like everyone else, I was sickened by what I heard. No creature should ever have to suffer in the manner that has been reported,” said Campbell.

“We want to get the facts and act and make sure it doesn’t ever happen again. The tragic and disturbing details that have emerged around how these dogs were inhumanely treated are not acceptable to British Columbians or to their government.”

Campbell said he doesn’t believe the dogsledding industry is properly regulated at present and this is something where “people would like to see more oversight.”

The task force will be headed by Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Terry Lake, who is also a veterinarian. It will also examine why WorkSafeBC did not provide information on the killings of the dogs to appropriate authorities when it first learned of the mass cull, believed to have been the largest in Canada.

WorkSafeBC initially heard the claim on May 7, 2010, from a 38-year-old employee of Outdoor Adventures when he filed an application for compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder after carrying out the killings of 100 dogs on April 21 and 23, 2010.

The employee’s compensation case was heard by review officer Allan Wotherspoon, who concluded the employee did suffer from the disorder and should be compensated. Wotherspoon’s report, dated Jan. 25, 2011, said the man’s employer indicated 100 dogs had been put down and “did not protest acceptance of the claim.”

“We need to talk to WorkSafeBC to determine when information is passed to authorities that may point to a criminal investigation,” said Lake, adding one of the issues he expects will be raised is privacy of medical information.

“Things like this create a lot of emotion. The premier, like all of us, is really upset.”

Lake said since there are only 45 days to complete the review there is no time nor is it necessary to hold public consultation meetings.

“We want to be very focused. We are looking for common-sense regulations, looking at the industry itself, talking to experts in animal health and animal behaviours.”

The task force will also include representatives of the BC Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Union of B.C. Municipalities, as dogsledding operations must have business licences to operate, said Lake.

Campbell promised the report would be made public after being forwarded to the minister of agriculture for review. He said if the task force finds it needs longer, it could make such a recommendation at the end of 45 days.

Meanwhile, The Vancouver Sun has learned the man who killed the dogs in April made a formal complaint to the BC SPCA last July about the “health and welfare” of the remaining dogs owned by Outdoor Adventures and the conditions in which they were living at the time.

The Sun is not identifying the man because of concern about his apparent fragile mental state. It is believed the man is in hiding after threats to his life. RCMP confirmed they have opened two threat investigations related to the killing of 100 sled dogs but would not say who was the subject of the threats.

The man’s complaint was sent to senior BC SPCA protection officer Eileen Drever on July 12, 2010. The employee was on stress leave but was still living on the company’s dogsled compound, three months after he killed 100 of the company’s approximately 350 dogs.

However, the SPCA did not follow up on that complaint with a visit. Instead, B.C.’s animal protection agency relied on a report from the company owner, Joey Houssian, saying the dogs were in good condition.

Asked why they didn’t visit the site, the SPCA spokeswoman Marcie Moriarty said they didn’t have enough staff to make the trip but a phone call was made to Houssian, who contacted “them back on July 16” — four days after the complaint was filed with the BC SPCA.

“At the time we weren’t able to get up to the property from the volume of calls the [SPCA’s cruelty investigation] constables were doing [elsewhere]. We simply didn’t have the staff,” she said.

“The complaint coming from [the employee] was not substantiated.”

Asked how the complaint was dismissed, Moriarty said the SPCA “did not just take Joey’s word for it.” But asked if the SPCA had an independent report from the local veterinarian about the dogs, Moriarty said not at that time.

It did, however, have a vet report given to it by Houssian dated June 15, 2010 — nearly one month before the employee’s formal complaint.

The Sun has obtained a copy of the employee’s July 12, 2010 complaint.

Among his concerns:

• A sled dog named Sausage was left on a dog truck for 24 hours in temperatures “reaching in the mid-30s ...” he said.

• Staff were leaving the compound between 4 and 5 p.m. “leaving them (the dogs) with no water overnight and sometimes until noon the next day.”

• Dogs are being left too long on their chains and “going chain crazy”

• Dogs being overworked running in hot weather once a week while others are not being exercised and getting “fat and out of shape.”

The complaint also said only 30 of the dogs had been given off-leash time since the end of April, when the cull occurred.

Moriarty said she was aware at the time of the complaint Outdoor Adventures “was starting to go with group housing” so the dogs could have some time off leash.

“We’ve always had concerns about the care and housing of dogs up there,” she said.

Late Wednesday, Outdoor Adventures and the man who killed the dogs released a joint statement in which they say the man advised Houssian in mid-April he estimated 50 dogs would be euthanized. The statement says the man told the company that the dogs to be euthanized were “too old” or “sick” and “not adoptable.”

The statement says “considerable efforts were made to arrange for dogs to be adopted, both before and after mid April, 2010. The efforts at adoption were not as successful as hoped.” It adds that the man “was known to have very humanely euthanized dogs on previous occasions.”

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